Photo School: Take Better Scenic Photos

Sometimes, when you're out in nature looking for that great scenic landscape photo, a deer or a bird may show up to give your shot some action. It makes your work a little easier, but how do you get a great shot without that?

Daily Press photographer Diane Cebula went through some photos posted on the HRTownSquare.com Web site and found examples of landscape scenes that turned out well and that could've been improved. The photographer for this shot says it was taken on a spot along Colonial Parkway. What she did right was pick a pretty place with different layers that include the grass and the water. It's a place where you'd want to take a scenic photo.

TIPS TO TAKE BEAUTIFUL SCENIC PHOTOS

Wait for the "golden hour." This is typically an hour or two after sunrise or before sunset. This creates great colors in the sky and dark shadows for contrast. It's also a time when most animals will be scrounging for food or getting ready for bedtime.

This looks like it was taken at midday, so everything's one tone, making the lighting flat. It's missing the shadows and contrast. Also, when the sun is straight above you, it usually casts harsh shadows on faces, resulting in "raccoon eyes," which are fine for photographing raccoons, but not much else.

Time your photo shoots to take advantage of seasonal color. Each season offers something different - gorgeous reds and golds in the fall, the contrasting black and white of winter snow or the budding and blooming of early spring.

Try to keep nature looking natural. The grass in the foreground here looks like it's been mowed, and wild grass doesn't look nice, neat and manicured. If the photographer wanted a more rustic look, it would've been OK to move in closer to the water and leave the grass out.

Keep extra still while shooting. Use a tripod or become a human tripod - sitting cross-legged and resting your elbows on your knees to keep the camera steady. A way of keeping the camera steady while standing is pressing your elbows to your ribs. Holding your breath can also help, depending on how serious you want to get about it all.

Pay attention to the horizon line while shooting. Some cameras include a grid view feature that can help you take straighter pictures. Image editing software can also fix a crooked horizon.

In this photo, of a sunset on a beach in Florida, photographer David Cutler, did a number of things well. There's a nice orange tone to the photo because it was taken during one of those "golden" hours. Layering was captured through the tall grass in the foreground, which still allows people to see the beach and the water. The large, rolling clouds towering above everything fill the rest of the frame so that your eye has something else to look at. The horizon is straight, so the photographer may have used a tripod.